By Gary Triplett Proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution:

“Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the Citizens of the United States …”

This is an idea that should be passed around, regardless of political party.

Congressional Reform Act of 2017

1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they’re out of office. And, no more perks go with them.

2. Congress (past, present, & future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.

3. Congress must purchase their own retirement plan, just as ALL Americans do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people (i.e. NO MORE INSIDER TRADING!!!).

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women. Congress made all these contracts by and for themselves.

Serving in Congress is an honor and privledge NOT a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators should serve their term(s), then go home and go back to work … not get all kinds of freebies.

By Gary Triplett An Easton, Pa. man, frustrated over property taxes, visited the local tax office and paid in dollar bills — all $7,143 of it.

One bill at a time.

Local news reports identify the man as Robert Fernandes of Forks Township.

The scene, posted on YouTube, has generated more than 15,600 views — in less than a week.

In the video, Fernandes carries a duffel bag filled with bundled bills, which he proceeds to stack on a counter. He brings doughnuts, offered to “anyone who is inconvenienced here today.”

The tax collector tells Fernandes his protest should probably be directed elsewhere, toward the school board, maybe, which is in charge of setting property tax rates.

“I’m not doing this to make anybody’s life more difficult,” Fernandes tells the collector. “Unfortunately, I wish the same could be said, you know, for me and many others whose lives are more difficult for having to pay property taxes.”

ODE TO COMMON SENSEObituary printed in the London Times…..Absolutely Brilliant !!

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense , who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:…– Knowing when to come in out of the rain;– Why the early bird gets the worm;– Life isn’t always fair;– And maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death,-by his parents, Truth and Trust,-by his wife, Discretion,-by his daughter, Responsibility,-and by his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 5 stepbrothers;– I Know My Rights– I Want It Now– Someone Else Is To Blame– I’m A Victim– Pay me for Doing Nothing

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

If you still remember him, share this with others. If not, join the majority and do nothing

In the early hours of September 15, 2008, five years ago last Sunday, Lehman Brothers announced it would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Lehman was a giant of the financial system — the fourth-largest investment bank in the US, a firm that employed thousands of brokers and analysts, with billions in assets that were suddenly worthless — and its collapse sent shock waves through the global economy.

Suddenly, it was obvious that the next president of the United States would inherit a staggering economic crisis. But the challenge that President Obama was forced to confront didn’t just begin in 2008. Even before Lehman Brothers, middle-class security had been slowly eroding for decades as jobs became obsolete or were shipped overseas.

So as we mark this anniversary, we’ve asked senior staff from across the Obama administration to sit down and talk about the moment when key decisions were made — the factors they weighed, the results of the actions that President Obama took. What we’ve put together is a behind-the-scenes look of the decision-making process that you won’t find anywhere else.

Check out the story of America’s recovery, then share it with your friends.

By the end of 2008, the economy was shrinking by an annual rate of more than 8 percent, our businesses were shedding 800,000 jobs a month, and credit was frozen for families and small businesses. We were in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. On the day that I first began working in the White House in 2009, the auto industry was on the brink of collapse and the President was wrestling with how to help the millions of families in thousands of communities who would have been devastated if the motor companies died.

That’s the lens through which President Obama saw his responsibilities, and it’s a consistent theme in all the stories we’ve collected. Every decision he made was meant to stop the economy from spiraling out of control, put people back to work, and reverse the trends that had buffeted middle class for decades. The task was nothing short of monumental — to clear away the rubble of the crisis and lay down a new foundation for sustained economic growth in the United States.

There’s no diminishing the severity of the challenge we’ve overcome together, and we’ve got a lot more work to do to rebuild an economy where everyone who works hard has a chance to get ahead. But five years after Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, we want to help everyone get the context and see the full picture.

Take a minute to learn more about where we are five years after the start of the financial crisis:

By Gary Triplett Long time radio newsman/commentator Paul Harvey created the original of this homily around 1965. It was updated as the years went by and therefore versions of it vary over time. It is a warning to America about its own decay.object

By Gary Triplettobama-gun-control.jpgYesterday was the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. And to mark Lincoln’s historic, moving speech, President Obama sat down and penned a very personal, handwritten tribute for display at the Lincoln Presidential Library.potus_gettysburg_web_2013.jpg

By Gary Triplett Today, Neil Cavuto on Fox News, discussed the newly proposed federal legislation that would raise the federal gasoline tax to be nearly doubled from 19 cents per gallon to 34 cents per gallon. His valid concern was where the taxes collected at the pump and excise taxes levied on the oil companies have gone… accountability. This concern is evidenced by taxes collected over the years versus road and bridge conditions today throughout the country. Now, Congress is proposing throwing more money at the problem without resolving accountability concerns of an already broken and unaccountable system.

Since there has been no comment, suggestion, amendment or addendum to the proposed fuels tax legislation above of nearly 2 1/2 years ago, I assume that whatever the federal government wishes to do with our money is simply “OK”. Have we truly become so passive or complacent for something as basic as what we pay for fuel that we will simply allow our representatives to continue to be irresponsible? The fuels tax is so basic that it affects, directly or indirectly, everyone regardless of age or economic status.

Oreilly is a forceful man during his interviews on his show, but was required to be much more subdued during an interview with the President. He certainly was not his typical robust self knowing the interview would be over if he stepped over a boundary. What a terrible shame anyone should need to feel “careful” while interviewing the highest elected employee of our nation. When the “people” ask a question of it’s elected “employee”, the employee should submit, not create an environment of superiority. Only the “people” allow this attitude of their employees.

Corporations and small owned businesses elect and employee their CEO or leader of their business based upon popularity… do you think? Why do we elect our President and so many other we hire to an office without education, experience and knowledge to do the important jobs we need them to do? In our last election, many black Americans of African origin voted upon race ONLY without regard for qualification. Many others voted for a dream or utopia. Quite obviously, those that voted, based upon our current electoral conventions, re-elected Obama.

During the interview by Bill O’Reilly and Obama during Super Bowl Pre-Game, the President gave all efforts to justify his actions or inactions. Those that were successful, he credited himself with. Those that were not as successful, he gave credit to his subordinates and placed responsibility for any failures upon them… or some”thing” else. Obama always had an answer, but never did, during the interview, or anytime else, ever take responsibility for anything less than successes.

The words: “The Buck Stops Here” should be incorporated into the pledge an elected official must take when entering any office throughout our nation. Integrity and humility is not taught to or learned by all of us that run for office.

Who doesn’t want our nation to succeed? We all have our own ideas and thoughts of how that should be done. One way it won’t succeed is by following history and the things that we should have learned that don’t work. We shouldn’t repeat them.

Thank you President Obama and Bill O’Reilly for the time you spent for this interview.

By Gary Triplett For years, the United States has felt, since Clinton manipulated the markets that allowed for the huge real estate boom during his term. We’ve been paying for it ever since and have also given away our sense of family and God. Family has long provided that true teaching of right and wrong and of the “golden rule’ and love of neighbor with God as it’s base. However, greed and selfishness, with government policies, creates an extreme pressure upon these values as most, in the short term, go down the path of least resistance in order to get and have what they wish, at any expense to anyone else.

In other words, we have been lavishing in our extremes of pleasure while eliminating our industrial power. Mortgages to buy homes and property at artificially inflated prices have been plaguing us with foreclosures and government bailouts. The result has been that the rich get richer and the price tag has been greater national debt that is sold to China. Who will repay these debts and at what expense?

By Gary Triplett Atheist_for _taxation.pngMost churches still do God’s work without desire of $$ except to give help, hope and community to so many. What we should be doing, instead of looking for more money in taxes, is to elect our nation’s residents that are well educated and have ethics enough to cut spending. It’s so easy, if anyone offer themselves to be elected to stand up to the job.

ncreasing taxes in this day and age is always the wrong answer. Giving the government the power to shut down the freedom of religion is wrong and dangerous. Anyone who has operated in the non-profit world on the conservative side of things over the last 2-3 years knows how dangerously powerful the IRS can be. Also, just to be clear most churches, at least in Virginia, are not corporations. Also, since churches don’t publicly report revenues, the figure reported for them is more of less made up.

I stand behind churches to continue to be exempt from taxation. Although I’m a Baptist, one great church I found of true value is “First United Methodist Church” in Hanover PA. They offer food, money or life emotional help without question.

What I’ve found troublesome with some churches is their missionary work only to find “numbers” in how many churches they build overseas. While living in Bucharest for a number of years, I found so many that need. I offered a food van to distribute food and let them know the church that gave. No church I contacted was interested… only to tell me that their funds were to build churches.

By Gary Triplett Liberals… that means LIBERTY. Freedom from government… not more government. If you want to marry a goat… do it!! Government isn’t involved.. just do it!!! Just don’t ask me to pay for it… that’s where government becomes involved again!I won’t help you unless you respect our Constitution and my freedom to live my life and raise my family without paying for your’s.

We are often so quick to condemn or critique others, especially those articles we see on TV or read in the news. Seldom do we correlate what we condemn of others to ourselves or what happens in our own homes or communities.

We work hard each day to earn a living. Earn a living; what does that mean? We use our-self, our knowledge, experiences, efforts, time and emotions in exchange for cash. Cash represents all of the above. A second entity, we call our government (local, state and federal), that we empower to do so, takes nearly 80% of that cash through taxes, fees and etc., directly or the most, indirectly.

Yet, in many homes today, the youth live within our homes, indefinitely playing video games, talking with girl or boy friends on our phones, use the car, eat the food and live freely. Some love this idea while others accept it as something of love and a necessity and feel no need but to support their child of 20 or 50 years. Some call it “unconditional love”. The child, having built no pride in accomplishments, future, experience, education, retirement or assets, what will our country be in 40 years when we die? Will our government step in as savior to pay rent, mortgages, taxes and provide food and etc. when there have been no basis developed?

Some couples separate with priorities misplaced, exchanging privacy, resources and efforts to their live-in adult children rather than to each other… in the name of love. Some couples separate from giving their time, resources and efforts to other family, friends or things in priority of their partner, buts that’s another topic.

Most of us have difficulty separating “unconditional love” from “true love”. Is a bluebird unloving when it pushes it’s fledglings from the nest, or is it loving to push it to it’s future? Would a bluebird be loving to it’s mate or to it’s child to not wish to discuss or deal with the issue of a child wishing to stay in the comfort and security of the nest? Should we hear the unhappy squawks from the child and back away to their wants without a knowledge or ability to confront them (in the name of unconditional love) or our own inability to deal? Is this love we continue to provide, or are we just going down the path of least resistance?

To enable children in our own homes or allow government to decide it for us to our neighbors, we are asking for no good end. Nothing good comes from enabling those that are viable and fully able, in our own homes or in society.

The next time you hear someone complain about society or something in the news, give a try to eliminate your pride and to correlate and consider your own life and home first. We have no right to complain about anything in society if we are unable to truly manage what goes on in our own homes!!!

By zooidal Some have said during the past decade or so that America is on the verge of a collapse similar to that of the late Roman Empire. A simplistic and alarmist notion in my view.

Regardless of obvious time span dissimilarities, our current circumstances do not resemble those surrounding the prolonged and fitful Fall of the Roman Empire. The US has never exercised anything close to Rome’s influence. There was no entity analogous to today’s China during the Roman fall, just ankle-biting barbarians and Rome’s own degeneracy. Degeneracy and ankle-biters we have. We also have sovereign allies with worldwide interests and influence – unlike Rome, which had a habit of subjugating their competitors. Certainly some believe we do that under the table, subtly.

We possess an unparalleled military, the greatest ever assembled. Rome’s wasn’t as effective or under firm central control during the Fall years. Our military is not a mercenary force prone to install and terminate domestic political leaders. Maybe foreign leaders, but not ours… I guess.

China’s prosperity depends on our own, though they do have interests within a geopolitical sphere not extending much beyond the South China Sea – a few business interests in Africa and South America being exceptions. Their acquisition of Smithfield isn’t the same as Alaric in Rome. The taking of Chef Boy-Ar-Dee would be a different story. Well, OK – I see it’s already taken. Unbeknownst to me, ConAgra changed the name to ‘Boyardee’. Why they didn’t go all the way and use ‘Boiardi’ is beyond me. They’re fine ones to construct names, as ‘ConAgra’ properly should be ‘ConAgri’.

Comparing us to the Romans and their fall seems to stem from two things, at least.First is the notion we lack a certain social cohesion existing 50 or more years ago. I agree, with qualifications. Back then, if you didn’t at least superficially adhere to certain common assumptions or conventions (like taking your hat off when going indoors if you were a man) you’d be labeled a Commie. Today, nobody’s a Commie, not even the Chinese. Backwater irritants Cuba and N. Korea don’t count, unless you’re Florida or S. Korea. Screw them. Today, it’s hard to find a man, unless they’re Chinese. Small appendages aside, they do build Big Stuff, and they’re sure to get to the Moon before James Cameron.

Secondly, it appears those who say we’re on a long slide to oblivion are simply observing chickens coming home to roost regarding the sustainability of funding a world-police style military, and means-tested welfare schemes in practice since 1964. These enormous, self-imposed liabilities have helped generate reductions in science funding, especially NASA and its late manned space program.

Government science funding in general has long been skeptically viewed and strangled by short-sighted purse stringers in the US. They disregard the historical funding of research and exploration by tribes, kingdoms, and representative democracies to their long-term benefit. No government ever went bankrupt pursuing knowledge accumulation; bankruptcy and ruin have resulted from maintaining mismanaged colonies and supplicant foreign governments. The Moon has no indigenous insurgents. What it does contain is the opportunity to expand human capability in all spheres. That said, I don’t believe purse-string tightening necessarily represents a national ‘slide to oblivion’; it may be a slide to irrelevance.

Marginally reminiscent of Rome’s fall is the insurgent support for unskilled immigrants gaining legal status in our country, and the welcoming of more to come. Why this is so in a time of relatively high unemployment and concern over means-tested welfare spending continuing at today’s levels stumps me.

By zooidal I’ve been saying the government should get out of the marriage business. Unfortunately, ‘government’ applies to 50 separate states, and invalidating 50 separate marriage laws is a tall order.

I believe people should be free to ‘marry’ inanimate objects, goats, or their dad’s sister’s niece or nephew. I’ve advocated domestic or household incorporation for purposes of accomplishing the various financial, insurance and inheritance statuses currently earned by married people. These hypothetical domestic or household corporations would have nothing to to do with sexual relations or the absence thereof. They could be valid for a limited number of members, perhaps 10. They would cover biologically related people, polygamous marriages or just friends. These people wouldn’t be required to live with one another.

Marriage is a historically religious arrangement. Get the government’s fingers out of it.

By zooidal The DHS was created to eliminate intelligence silos deemed responsible in part for 9/11. Though this solution is constitutionally appropriate regarding foreign intelligence, when applied to American citizens on American soil it is not. There’s not one argument in favor of the NSA’s Prism program, as deployed within an environment of DOJ and NSA information-sharing, which does not imply a de facto suspension of habeas corpus. Since a notorious advertisement of 4th Amendment suspension has not occurred, Prism as implemented is patently unconstitutional.

Assurances of the “proper handling” of mass communications using secretly developed protocols and secret courts are not only undermined by that secrecy, they’re beside the point. Gathering personal conversations and messages traceable to individuals is not merely recording crowd noise. Saying ‘Google does it’ is also beside the point. Google doesn’t tax you at gunpoint. Google is not the US government. The mass-gathering of domestic communications by the US government, even if left unexamined, is a 4th Amendment violation; secret warrants or not, it turns the entire US population into un-indicted criminal suspects.

99.99% of Americans are not involved in plots to destroy the US. The same cannot be said regarding common misdemeanors. Potential DOJ and IRS access to NSA-gathered data is one result of the creation of the DHS. We’re effectively having the contents of our mailboxes and intimate conversations piped directly to people claiming to wear blind-folds and ear-plugs, but are somehow able to categorize these communications anyway. The government agent and apologist explanation that computer algorithm-based searches are hands-free, and therefore inappropriate personal searches are not happening en mass, does not explain away the initial material acquisition absent an explicit warrant. The 4th Amendment refers to search AND seizure. Logical hoops provide intellectual exercise and political cover for those wishing away the Constitution in their zeal to go after the “bad guys”. The fact is there’s not one among us who’s not a ‘bad guy’ from time to time. It’s been said that we all commit at least one crime serious enough to risk possible arrest each day.

If you’ve been politically active and happen to disagree with the current administration, you may have noticed what can happen when the IRS gets involved. Imagine it’s the FBI or ATF. For a while now they’ve rained negative consequences down on those living near or having a street address similar to that of a targeted drug dealer. Innocent people have frequently been assaulted and had their pets killed by overzealous drug warriors. Prism makes it possible for those living nowhere near crack houses to be assaulted by paramilitary-style cops with zero tolerance towards the general population. In the meantime, others with their own beefs against society are constructing bombs in basements without the help of Facebook or cell phones. The Boston bombing, the Underwear and Times Square bombers, and Nidal Hassan were all dealt with by the police or self-interested bystanders. It’s hard to see how the NSA could’ve stopped these guys or the next ones, but it’s easy to see false alarms happening down the road.

Is this really how we want to live in the US – constantly looking over our collective shoulder, not for terrorist attacks less likely than death by lightning – but for government snoopers? I know I don’t.

It’s a hell of a thing when China starts looking like attractive option for relocation. They have nowhere to go but up, while we’re going down. This is true concerning issues apart from civil liberties. They’re shooting for the Moon while our government’s using us for target practice.

What a wonderful experience to witness the recreation of the battles of 150 years ago in Gettysburg, PA of the US Civil War. People willing to sacrifice their gold, land and life to have power for states and a central government more in tune with the limited purpose of a central government to unite the states.

Reading emails or hunching over a screen can…activate humans’ fight-or-flight response, said Linda Stone, a researcher who has studied the physiological effects of Internet use. Stone has shown that about 80 percent of people (Saying 79.9 percent would save her 3 characters and a space, but that would seem like a lot less people) temporarily stop breathing or breathe shallowly when they check their email or look at a screen — a condition she calls email apnea. – Well then, people who thread needles, land airplanes, sneak up creaky stairways, see cops with radar guns (or cops readying themselves to Tase recalcitrant motorists), open registered mail from the IRS, or do anything requiring exactitude or self-preservation should already have Stone’s attention, though that won’t get her recognized as an on-demand professional Internet expert, so never mind. What of the multitudes of apneic people in front of cinema, television, convenience store deli and ATM screens? Same deal.

You’ve got mail – Humans are social creatures. (Damn. Really?) As a result, people enjoy the social information available via email and the Web. – As if telephones, the U.S. Postal Service, backyard fences and Friday night bingo were never used to spread gossip. At least Ghose explains the mystery of Facebook. That said, nowhere in the article does she credit AOL for the paragraph heading.

Email and social media have the same reward structure as that of a casino slot machine… people are wired to compulsively seek unpredictable payoffs like those doled out on the Web… If that sounds like you, don’t feel bad: That behavior is natural, given how the Internet is structured, experts say. “…It’s compulsive; it’s compelling; it’s distracting”, said Tom Stafford, a cognitive scientist at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom. – Is the Internet as “compulsive” as Tom Stafford, with his fondness for semi-colons and permutations of the word ‘compel’? (Maybe I shouldn’t talk – I like parentheses, dashes, slashes, ticks, run-on sentences and self-depreciating asides – but, I digress) Does his training in cognitive science qualify him as an “expert” on email and social media structure? Anybody can see these are recently developed extensions of preexisting social interaction methods.

No limits – Another reason the Internet is so addictive is it lacks boundaries between tasks, Stafford said. Someone may set out to “research something, and then accidentally go to Wikipedia, and then wind up trying to find out what ever happened to Depeche Mode,” Stafford said, referring to the music band. – Ooo, no boundaries, can’t have that – let’s ban hypertext. But gee, I thought quick’n’easy information access was a good thing, but so is organization and discipline. I think it says so in the Code of Hammurabi. BBSes, CompuServe, Prodigy and AOL were structured environments not mentioned in the article – maybe I’m an expert for mentioning them. Seriously, are these experts offering us anything new regarding human nature, or practical solutions for easily distracted people that weren’t adapted from out-of-print self-help books? Lots of things having nothing to do with the Internet can be of interest to the terminally distracted, except for the things they’re supposed to be doing right now.

You never get away from the temptation,” Stafford said. – How insightful, though an underestimation of human capacity.

Set boundaries – For those who want to loosen the viselike grip of the Web (maybe they really mean porn) on their lives, a few simple techniques may do the trick. Web-blocking tools that limit surfing time can help people regain control over their time (Yeah? Uninstalling them gives you even more control!). Another method is to plan ahead, committing to work for 20 minutes, or until a certain task is complete, and then allowing five minutes of Web surfing, Stafford said. – Web blocking tools? We’re all kids now? At least the idea wasn’t cribbed from Rita Emmett’s Procrastinator’s Handbook. Stafford’s brief, hackneyed suggestion masquerades as a time-worn time-management tip; maybe Internet Exhaustion Syndrome has messed with his creativity.

Old movies sometimes depicted gossipy housewives spreading disinformation at the protagonist’s expense via a new invention, the telephone, which attracted plenty of predictions of mal-use during its first decade or so. Proper telephone etiquette was promoted in theater ad inserts, popular magazines and schools. During the 1980s until the mid 90s, ‘netiquette’ was promoted to those newly online. Proper study habits and time management have been subjects of interest since before Aristotle. Tia Ghose includes only the very brief, unoriginal suggestions found on Google Books by cognitive scientist/on-demand Internet expert Tom Stafford for what she sees as “a lack of structural online boundaries” tempting users into “spending countless hours on the Web”. Ghose’s article is an exercise in mere sensationalism.

Well, gotta go – I wanna download a movie and some discographies from Pirate Bay while notifying Facebook friends about the new blog I’m editing. Damn, more inbox Viagra… crap, I didn’t top my high score – Happy Wheels sucks.

…One more tidbit, because a black hole has stripped me of all discipline:

“Technology is all about eroding structure,” Stafford told LiveScience. “But actually, psychologically, we need more structure, and those things are in tension.” – Technology is about eroding “structure”? Maybe sandblasters and a hypothetical cloud of nano-nibblers with diamond encrusted grills can erode structure, but I guess that’s not what he means. OK, Stafford’s …read more